At a loss with non weight loss
nicpach
Posts: 7 Member
Last October I joined a gym and found a personal trainer that I really liked. She put me on a nutrition plan similar to IIFYM (20g protein, 10g of fat, 400 cals per meal) x 4 times a day. It worked great for a year or so (lost 20 pounds) but in the last 6 months, the scale has barely budged.
I'm at the gym 6x a week and have a fairly good mix of cardio and strength training sessions. I burn the minimum amount of calories that she wants me to each session. Around the holidays I went a little off the rails and didn't eat very well, but that extra weight will not drop at all now, even though currently I stay pretty closely strict to the nutrition goals that she gives me and I'm 100% devoted to my workout schedule, even if I don't eat perfectly.
Between the gym cost, personal trainer cost and extra classes that I take (and do really enjoy), I can't help but start thinking that I'm just burning money lately and not getting any results. Generally I have a low stress lifestyle and I only really stress out on Tuesdays (because I weigh in with my trainer the next morning). I'm definitely stronger and in better health, but my overall goal was to get to a pretty reasonable weight (150) and at 5'6, I feel like that's pretty reasonable but I've got a good 30 pounds to go and I'm so discouraged by seeing zero progress in 6 months.
I've tried mixing it up with meal replacement shakes, which just leave me feeling bloated and actually make the scale go up, tried low carb, tried eating clean, and nothing has changed. I drink between 150-200 oz of water daily too.
Any other ideas on ways to shake it up and see some progress. Even if I lost .5 lb a week, I feel like it would go a long way in motivating me to stick with the fitness plan and not be feeling so discouraged. I've also had my thyroid checked and a full CBC, everything came back perfectly.
I'm at the gym 6x a week and have a fairly good mix of cardio and strength training sessions. I burn the minimum amount of calories that she wants me to each session. Around the holidays I went a little off the rails and didn't eat very well, but that extra weight will not drop at all now, even though currently I stay pretty closely strict to the nutrition goals that she gives me and I'm 100% devoted to my workout schedule, even if I don't eat perfectly.
Between the gym cost, personal trainer cost and extra classes that I take (and do really enjoy), I can't help but start thinking that I'm just burning money lately and not getting any results. Generally I have a low stress lifestyle and I only really stress out on Tuesdays (because I weigh in with my trainer the next morning). I'm definitely stronger and in better health, but my overall goal was to get to a pretty reasonable weight (150) and at 5'6, I feel like that's pretty reasonable but I've got a good 30 pounds to go and I'm so discouraged by seeing zero progress in 6 months.
I've tried mixing it up with meal replacement shakes, which just leave me feeling bloated and actually make the scale go up, tried low carb, tried eating clean, and nothing has changed. I drink between 150-200 oz of water daily too.
Any other ideas on ways to shake it up and see some progress. Even if I lost .5 lb a week, I feel like it would go a long way in motivating me to stick with the fitness plan and not be feeling so discouraged. I've also had my thyroid checked and a full CBC, everything came back perfectly.
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Replies
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If you are not losing weight there is only one answer: You are not maintaining a caloric deficit. You'll have to eat less or exercise more.0
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Wow- it sounds like you work out a lot and that is so awesome that you are so committed to it! In general it seems that your issue has got to be in the kitchen; do you weigh all your foods? I know it sounds like a broke record, but it really can help. If you really are sticking to 1600 calories a day and are 5'6" and 180 you should be losing slowly even without all the workouts, so something has got to be off. Food scales are cheap and really can be your best friend if you just get in the habit of using them all the time. Hope this helps you on your journey (beware of fad diets and such, they really are just scams)0
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Do you weigh all your food? With the exercise calories you are burning, do you eat those back? How do you calculate your exercise burn?0
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If you're eating the same as when you were losing weight would it not be reasonable to expect to drop your intake now to feed less into the smaller you ? Maybe 1400 calories perhaps.
I don't know if there's evidence of benefit from going to the gym that often, every other day might be adequate to save some money. Your water intake seems somewhat over the top too - do you feel that helps ?0 -
I do have a food scale. And I measure everything. I don't keep junk in the house - aside from the chocolate chips that I add 1 TBSP at a time to my protein shakes (which I calculate in to my nutrition plan). We even have one of those fancy InBody machines at the gym, so I know that my BMR is 1483. I burn 500 calories 5x a week, so 2500 calorie burn which comes out to 357 calories burned a day on average.
So currently I'm at a 243 calorie deficit per day and still cannot lose anything.0 -
How do you know you burn 500 calories every session? Things which claim you've burnt a number of calories tend to not be accurate.
This comment seems like a bit of a clue: even if I don't eat perfectly.
If you're having moments where you're going off plan, it wouldn't take much for that to negatively impact your results. 99% of the time when people aren't losing weight, it's because they're eating more than they admit to. It'll be worth tightening up your tracking and being more certain on how much you're burning. Maybe cut that 500 down to 250 and work things out from there, eat like that for a week and see if your results improve.0 -
Not quite with you 1480 BMI * 1.2 = 1780 TDEE if sedentary plus a pessimistic 200 for the exercise = 1980. That gives a deficit of 1980 - 1600 = 380 ?
PS Is the diabetes fixed ?0 -
How do you know you burn 500 calories every session? Things which claim you've burnt a number of calories tend to not be accurate.
This comment seems like a bit of a clue: even if I don't eat perfectly.
If you're having moments where you're going off plan, it wouldn't take much for that to negatively impact your results. 99% of the time when people aren't losing weight, it's because they're eating more than they admit to. It'll be worth tightening up your tracking and being more certain on how much you're burning. Maybe cut that 500 down to 250 and work things out from there, eat like that for a week and see if your results improve.
I workout with an HRM. Mondays and Thurs mornings I do an interval circuit which is 30 mins weights, 20 mins cardio, 10 cool down, Tuesdays I do spin, Wednesday I meet with my personal trainer and work out with her, Thursday nights I do a 60 minute TRX class and Saturdays I do an hour of cardio. I feel like the fitness part is pretty tight, but yes, it's the food.
I feel like I eat so differently than I did 2 years ago (so much fast food and takeout) that I should be losing still with 1 cheat meal a week compared to when I was able to maintain then by eating crap. I agree, there's room for improvement but I'm not sure how to improve without cutting the very few treats that I have.0 -
If you're eating the same as when you were losing weight would it not be reasonable to expect to drop your intake now to feed less into the smaller you ? Maybe 1400 calories perhaps.
I don't know if there's evidence of benefit from going to the gym that often, every other day might be adequate to save some money. Your water intake seems somewhat over the top too - do you feel that helps ?
It might be too much, but I'm a SAHM so it's kind of my "me time" and I actually am at the point where I enjoy doing it and have made friends there so I really like going.
It might be too much water, but I feel like that's the first thing people ask when you say you aren't able to lose weight - "Well, how much water are you drinking". I don't feel like I'm drowning or anything, but don't feel any particular benefits from it either.0 -
Maybe you aren't eating enough for what you are doing....maybe your body is saying "I'm going to hold on to everything I can because there isn't enough coming in"
Another thing to consider is muscle mass and clothing size. If you measure something at 10" around and it is nice solid muscle it would weigh more than 10" around of fat. Maybe you weigh more than you would like because you are muscular, nothing wrong with that!0 -
Are you even seeing any inches drop? If I was doing that much working out, I'd wonder about losing inches as much or more than I would pounds. If you haven't been measuring, have you noticed your clothes fit better? This follows along the lines of what @LivLovLrn was saying.
If you're happy, and not feeling tired or worn out from going to the gym that often, good for you. I went 5+ days a week for awhile an burned myself out, so I applaud your stamina!0 -
Maybe you aren't eating enough for what you are doing....maybe your body is saying "I'm going to hold on to everything I can because there isn't enough coming in"
Another thing to consider is muscle mass and clothing size. If you measure something at 10" around and it is nice solid muscle it would weigh more than 10" around of fat. Maybe you weigh more than you would like because you are muscular, nothing wrong with that!
That's what I wondered too, but with doing the weekly weigh-ins, I hate the thought of upping my calories and ending up with a huge gain the next week. I started at a size 14, down to 12, but I've been in 12 for almost a year now, with no big changes. I haven't taken new measurements in a while, but I don't feel that much different in my clothes.0 -
Maybe you aren't eating enough for what you are doing....maybe your body is saying "I'm going to hold on to everything I can because there isn't enough coming in"
Another thing to consider is muscle mass and clothing size. If you measure something at 10" around and it is nice solid muscle it would weigh more than 10" around of fat. Maybe you weigh more than you would like because you are muscular, nothing wrong with that!
No. The body doesn't work like that.0 -
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The proof of the pudding is in the scale.
If you aren't seeing the losses you want to see, you have to increase your deficit. So whatever your deficit is right now, real or imagined, you need to increase it.0 -
Maybe you aren't eating enough for what you are doing....maybe your body is saying "I'm going to hold on to everything I can because there isn't enough coming in"
There's no such thing. If one doesn't eat enough they lose weight. This is a myth.
You just eat too much. It's been 6 months. So it is not due to fluctuations either.
Increase your deficit to 500-600 a day. This means to lose 1lbs a week on average.
If your deficit is only around 200 it is very easy not to make it. Food measuring is not 100% exact. Calorie burn in exercise is even less accurate. You can't count on these 200cal deficit in my opinion.
I think you should eat around 1400 cal/day and try not to go over it.
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Trust me I've been there. You cant exercise away the pounds. You have to count all the calories and make sure you don't go over! I was at 190 and lost 40 pounds through eating a little less and working out like crazy. When I hit 150 no weight loss forever till I cut back my calories. Then the other 25 pounds came off about 1 pound a week. Hope this helps!0
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A 243 calorie deficit is a small one - less than 1/2 pound per week. If you aren't ALWAYS accurate with food logging and if you are "pretty close" or "not eating perfectly," it would be easy to negate that deficit altogether.0
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As others have mentioned, if you haven't lost for an extended period of time, your intake is likely too high for your goals. One thing I was guilty of as a SAHM was nibbling too frequently, especially when I had young children. A few goldfish as you're putting them in a container for your little, some raw veggies while cooking dinner, a bite of a banana or slice of apple, licking the peanut butter spoon, a couple of jelly beans...etc. It's an easy habit to fall into when you prepare food for others all day long. Just the few little things I mentioned could easily add up to 100-200 calories. Gum or a fizzy drink while cooking, and sitting down to eat full meals/snacks instead of grazing help me. At the very least you should try to log the bulk of those extra nibbles to the best of your ability, even when it wasn't part of your plan. It's a good tool to see how those things add up and might help you see where your can improve. Great job on your workouts! The gym was my sanctuary when I had a house full of young children, I totally get it!0
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What do your weekends look like? Any 'cheat' days or just general go out and not track meals?0
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The only requirement to lose weight is a caloric deficit. Nothing else matters, not how much you workout, how perfectly you hit your macros or even how perfectly you track your intake.
If you are losing weight then by definition you are eating less than you burn. If you are not you are not. There is unfortunately no other answer.
For me, I stink at tracking accurately and therefore have to aim at a higher deficit to get any.
I'm not saying that's your issue, just telling you mine.
When I aim to lose a 1/2 lb per week I maintain. Oops (but kinda good practice)
Learning this about Myself allows me to adjust and make progress, and I include maintaining my loss to date in that, that's all that I care about so it's ok.0 -
There's something going on with your food logging. Sorry someone else said it and no one likes to hear it. Glad to hear you have a food scale, but you need to be weighing EVERYTHING that isn't a liquid. Rice, oats, cereal, protein powder, fruit, vegetables, bread, cookies...
Also to chime in with what someone else asked, no cheat days or days where you went over?
Your calorie burns might be inflated (even my HRM overestimates mine, you have to subtract the calories you would normally have burned by being alive during that same period as well) but if you were really eating 1600 a day I'd expect a greater loss. So you probably aren't.
You can also try cutting calories. If your 1600 is actually 1850 or 2000, cutting to 1400 might get you an actual 1600.
I know you talk about eating healthy and "better" but it really comes down to quantity not quality (for weight loss). I still eat a lot of fast food, but in less quantity than before, and have lost 20 lbs since Thanksgiving, though I am heavier than you.0 -
Thank you so much for all of the replies! It means so much to me that you'd all take the time to weigh in on this for me. I don't do cheat days, instead I allow myself cheat meals. Usually one on Wednesday after my official weigh in with the trainer and then one on Saturday - and they are always salads, either from Panera or a similar quick service restaurant. They aren't terrible, but the avocado, egg and cheese is always over my allowed fat content, so that's what makes me think of it as a cheat.
I think there were a lot of good points made and I'm going to really buckle down with tracking everything. My trainer always says "you can't out-train a bad diet" and that's exactly my issue. I feel relieved reading all the replies that it all comes down to calories in versus calories out. Sometimes I panic thinking that there's "something" out there that I'm missing or some fad diet that's going to change my life and it helps so much to hear that I just need to buckle down and log every bite.
The whole snacking off my kids plates is a huge one for me. All those goldfish here and a cracker there add up.
Thank you all so much, I'm feeling like I got some great advice and I'm going to tighten it up this week and see how it goes.0 -
Are you getting enough sleep? Maybe switch up your exercise routine? Hiking?0
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From the info you're giving us it just sounds like not eating at the correct deficit.
1. Not logging every bite correctly - that includes those kids leftovers
2. At a deficit you were on ages ago (the more weight you lose, the deficit should increase) ie if you started off at 200lbs and were on X calories a day, if you then be on X-100 calories or whatever when you get to 180 lbs.
3. What you eat is 80% to exercise 20% of the weight loss journey.
Seriously just log every single thing, recalculate a realistic and healthy calorie deficit, keep up your excellent fitness regime and things will change.0 -
There are some tasty salads out there. Watch out more for croutons, the type of dressing, cheese, etc. the stuff that's full of calories, those are the ones that will get you because 'they're just a salad'. I had the turkey avocado blt from Panera last night, so tasty, and still fit into my calories.- and they are always salads, either from Panera or a similar quick service restaurant. They aren't terrible, but the avocado, egg and cheese is always over my allowed fat content, so that's what makes me think of it as a cheat.
Always good to hear it helped. Fad diets are like get rich quick scheme's, they sound great and end up being bad.I feel relieved reading all the replies that it all comes down to calories in versus calories out. Sometimes I panic thinking that there's "something" out there that I'm missing or some fad diet that's going to change my life and it helps so much to hear that I just need to buckle down and log every bite.
Give it several weeks, not just this week! Since weight loss isn't lateral you'll get a better idea after a good amount of time has passed. If anything, tightening up what you do can hopefully just add good habits (and more goldfish for the kids!Thank you all so much, I'm feeling like I got some great advice and I'm going to tighten it up this week and see how it goes.
), and no hurt.
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